I stiffened for a moment, instinctively wanting to pull away from his touch, but his grip tightened, not giving me any chance


    to escape.


    The feeling of being controlled wasn’t a good one, and I didn’t like it. I furrowed my brows and said, “Philip…”


    Before I could say anything more, he cut me off. “Zoe, Alvin’s my brother. I can’t criticize him, but he’s the exception. You can’t let that make you lose sight of your own principles.”


    His grip on me remained firm, and I could feel the tension and tremble in his hand. His gaze locked on mine, dark and intense, his tone serious, even pleading. “Zoe, finding a boyfriend isn’t something to take lightly. You have to be careful, or it could ruin you.”


    Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, I felt a pang of guilt. Part of me wanted to tell him that Josh was just a temporary boyfriend.


    But that thought quickly vanished. I had brought Josh into this mess to make the Dolton family give up their hopes. If I told him the truth, it would just be admitting that I was using Josh as a prop, and that wasn’t the point.


    “Philip, I’m not a little kid. I know exactly what I’m doing,” I retorted.


    “But you’ve only known Josh for a few days,” Philip’s voice dropped even lower, sounding a little angry now.


    Seeing the doubt in his eyes, I decided to throw him a bombshell. “I’ve known him for only a few days, but our connection was already set when I went to Tideport.”


    I phrased it carefully, since I considered Philip like a big brother, and I didn’t want to say anything too harsh.


    Philip’s expression changed in an instant. His eyes widened as if struck by a sudden realization. His hand on my shoulder tightened as if he was trying to hold me still.


    He didn’t speak for a while, just stared at me with a look I couldn’t ignore-disbelief, disappointment, and a deep, painful


    hurt.


    I read the depth of that look, and shifted my position slightly. “Philip, some things are just meant to be. Maybe Josh and I were always meant to meet.”


    As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt him shudder.


    His grip on my shoulder didn’t loosen, but it wasn’t as tight as before.


    Just then, Bryson appeared out of nowhere, his face breaking into a radiant smile. “Zoe, you’ve got a guest! Why aren’t you in your office?”


    He nced at Philip and said, “Come to the office. I’ll get someone to make some good coffee for you.”


    Philip, ever the gentleman, loosened his grip on me and said to Bryson, “No need, thanks.”


    With that, Philip left without looking back. The sense of loss was almost suffocating.


    I stood there, frozen, for a long moment before heading back to my office. As I passed Bryson’s, I was about to knock when I


    overheard his conversation.


    “Bro, it’s all taken care of… Yeah, he left… That guy’s way out of your league, trust me… Zoe…”


    Bryson, who had been talking on the phone, walked out of his office just as I stood at the door. He looked startled, almost


    dropping his phone.


    I wasn’t sure why he seemed so shocked. I quickly reached out to grab the phone, and saw the caller ID had “Bro” on it.


    I handed the phone back to him, noticing the slight color drain from his face as he fumbled to answer. “Zoe’s here, I’ll call you back.”


    He quickly hung up and looked at me, his flustered expression obvious.


    It wasn’t like he was talking about something secretive-just a phone call, right? It wasn’t like I’d overheard some illicit conversation or apany leak. So why was he so panicked?


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